Asahi Pentax Spotmatic

by Karen Nakamura

Overview and Personal Comments

This original Spotmatic was released in 1964 and was produced until 1967. It
has almost a cult following among many photographers, including myself. You
might think a camera with the name "Spotmatic" had a spot-meter or
automatic shutter or aperture priority metering. Hah! Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

The original prototype Spotmatic did have a spotmeter CdS cell. But Asahi
decided, wisely, that a center weighted meter would give better photos across
the broad spectrum of scenes and that spotmeters were difficult for beginners
to use (not everyone is a Ansel Adam's Zone freak). The Spotmatic has a stopped-down
manual match-needle metering system. This means that:

When you want to take a picture, you lift the camera to your eyes and focus
the lens. At this point, the camera's aperture is wide open to allow for easy
focusing. Then you meter. With your left thumb, you flip up the "SW"
switch on the left side of the lens mount. This stops the lens down to its
taking aperture and activates the through-the-lens metering circuitry. A small
needle on the right side of the viewfinder moves in response to the light.
Using your shutter speed and aperture controls, you move a second needle with
a big 'O' on the end until it corresponds with the smaller needle (matching
the needle = match needle). Since the lens is stopped down, you check your
depth of field, and then shoot away.

What photography instructors and old tyros like is that because you always
meter stopped down, you always know what your depth of field is. And because
with match needling, you can easily adjust so that your 'O' needle is just above
or just below, it teaches you exposure compensation very smoothly. Backlit subject?
Just keep the 'O' needle a bit above. A black cat? A bit below. That's much
easier than the +1, +2, or -1, -2 type exposure compensation dials in automatic metering cameras,
that always seem to be tucked somewhere inconvenient.

By the way, if you're looking for a camera that looks exactly like a Spotmatic, but doesn't have a light meter, then you're most probably looking for a Asahi Pentax S1a or H1a, or maybe an early Asahiflex. All Spotmatics came with a light meter built in. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

Interesting quirks

The fixed focal length Super-Takumars
in the M42 Pentax/Praktica screw mount that came with the Spotmatics easily were at the top of their class when they
came out and they still best all of the consumer level zoom lenses that people
buy. They were multi-coated with a very hard coating process. If you see a Super-Takumar,
buy it.

Although photography teachers like to recommend the Pentax
K1000 and its clones
for their students, I think they'd be better off recommending early screwmount
Spotmatics. The lenses are excellent and in good supply, the metering is still
spot on, and best of all, prices are still reasonable. The Pentax K bayonet
mount is excellent, but I still have a soft spot for the screw mounts.

Technical
Details

Camera Name

Pentax Spotmatic

Manufacturer

Asahi Optical

Place of Manufacture

Japan

Date of Manufacture

1964

Focusing System

Single-lens reflex with pentaprism eye-level viewfinder

Lens use helicoid focusing

Lens Mount

Pentax/Praktica screwmount (M42)

Shutter

Focal plane shutter
1 sec ~ 1/1000
X-sync = 1/60

Metering System

CdS TTL metering (stopped down only)
EV 1.7 ~ 18 (ISO 100)

Flash

Hotshoe, PC connection

Film type / speeds

135 type (35mm standard film)
ASA - 3200

Battery type

1.3v mercury PX-400

Dimensions and
weight

Retail price

Note: Using the text or images on this site in an ebay auction without permission is a violation of your ebay Terms of Service. I will report you to ebay if I discover such a violation taking place.

About Asahi Optical Co.

You see both Asahi Pentax and Honeywell Pentax cameras on the market, what's
the difference? Asahi Optical Company is the manufacturer of the cameras and
has a very hallowed history. It was founded in 1919 to make optical lenses.
It came out with its first SLR, the Asahiflex I in 1951. Pentax is the name
of their first SLR with a pentaprism (penta-prism = pentax) which came out in
1957. Since then, it's been their tradename for their series of SLRs, just as
EOS is the trade name for Canon's electronic SLRs.

Honeywell was the U.S. importer for Asahi cameras until the mid-1970s. Cameras
that they imported are stamped "Honeywell Pentax" on the nameplate,
not Asahi Pentax. With the minor except of one camera that was designed to accomodate
a Honeywell flash unit, Honeywell Pentaxes are identical to Asahi Pentaxes.

About the only things with a stronger cult following than the Pentax screw mount
cameras (Spotmatics) are their K-mount cameras, including the K1000. The K1000
which is now being made by Chinese companies and branded under Chinon and other
labels, is often recommended by photography instructors. This has caused the
price to stay about $200 for a new set. My own recommendation is to stay with
the screw mounts. There is a wider variety of lenses and prices are relatively
good. There's also a very strong cult following around their gargantuan Pentax 67 medium format SLRs.